OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 80, FGCU 88
Records: North Florida (9-14, 3-5 ASUN) | FGCU (8-14, 3-4 ASUN)
Location: Alico Arena (Fort Myers, Fla.)
The Short Story: Wajid Aminu hit a career high three treys en route to a season best 25 point effort in a hard fought road loss 88-80 at FGCU on Sunday night.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Junior Wajid Aminu stuffed the stat sheet against the Eagles finishing with a team best 25 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal | Aminu also made 10 of 13 shot attempts including a 3-for-4 performance from the three point arc
- Junior Noah Horchler finished with 22 points and had a team co-high rebound total of 6 
- Junior Ivan Gandia-Rosa narrowly missed his first double-double of the season, tallying 10 points and 9 assists
- FGCU had four of its starters reach double-digits led by 32 from Schadrac Casimir
- Ospreys netted 13 treys in the contest with all five starters connecting from long distance
- Both teams recorded 23 assists
- Game featured 15 lead changes and four ties

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- After trading baskets to open the contest, FGCU seized a quick lead behind a 9-point spurt
- Noah Horchler and Garrret Sams drilled back-to-back threes allowing the Ospreys to cut the deficit in half, only to see the Eagles push the lead back with a pair of baskets
- Trailing 20-17, North Florida used a 9-2 run to earn their first multi-possession margin of the game | Wajid Aminu accounted for six of the points in the flurry
- FGCU knotted the score at 26 before an 8-2 rally for the Ospreys provided the team's largest lead of the night, 34-28
- The Eagles mounted a charge with a 17-3 run to build a 45-37 advantage | FGCU has runs of 7 points and 10 points sandwiched around a Brian Coffey triple
- UNF closed the half strong, getting seven straight points from Aminu to trim the halftime deficit to one, 45-44
 
Second Half Notes
- UNF surrendered the first eight points after the intermission as FGCU extended the lead to near double digits, but the Ospreys answered with the next 10 points to regain the lead | Ivan Gandia-Rosa and Horchler dropped in consecutive treys followed by lay-ups for Horchler and Ezekiel Balogun
- After four points by FGCU, Aminu scored five of seven points in a UNF spurt that gave the visitors a 4-point lead, 61-57, with 12:47 on the clock
- The squads raced back-and-forth over the next several minutes of play with neither squad seizing control
- Behind an extended 18-8 run, FGCU eventually  took an 82-75 lead with :40 left in the game
- Following traded free throws, JT Escobar hit a three-pointer with 27 ticks remaining to trim the deficit to four points, but the Eagles converted four straight free throws to hold on for the win 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida dropped its fourth straight overall and second consecutive on the road
- Ospreys and Eagles split their regular season meetings for the first time since 2016 and just the third time in series history
- Noah Horchler topped 20-point mark for the second game in a row and the fifth time this year
- Wajid Aminu tallied 20+ for the first time this year
- #BirdsofTrey had 2 3PM above their ASUN leading average of 11 per game
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa handed out 9 assists for the third time this season
- Casimir became only UNF opponent to score 30+ this season and first since Rob Marberry of Lipscomb had 39 last February
- UNF committed fewer turnovers than the Eagles

LAST WORD
"It was another hard fought game and tough loss. Proud of how the guys continue to battle, compete and persevere. Just have to continue working to be able to get those key stops and make the simple plays when we need it. We will get back to work tomorrow and prepare to play Kennesaw State on Wednesday night." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida continues its current road swing with a game Wednesday at Kennesaw State